Sign and holder therefor



H. P. ANDRESEN.

SIGN AND HOLDER THEREFOR.

APPUCATION HLED MAR. 20, 1919 Patented Apr 6, 1920.

2 SHEFTS-SHEET I.

l rmanmwesen H. P. ANDRESEN.

SQGN AND HOLDER THEREFOR.

APPLICATION HLED Ma. 20, 1919.

Patentad Apr. 6, 1920.

SHEETSSHEET 2. 1

avLLv unnunhh l l m rmarz m In! HERMAN P. ANDRESEN, OF CHICAGO,ILLINOIS.

SIGN ANI? HOLDER THEREFOR.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 6, 1920.

Application filed March 20, 1919. Serial No. 283,725.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN P. Axonnsnx, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illi nois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Signs and HoldersTherefor, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to improve ments in signs and relatesmore particularly to improvements in street or road signs, and holderstherefor.

In marking street or road intersections, it is common practice to rovidea post, usually bearing the names of t e intersecting streets, whichsigns parallel the roads or streetsthat they designate. In someinstances direction letters are also provided above the si ns. If thesign is to serve the purpose inten ed, it is essential that the signsubstantially parallelthe road or street that it designates and alsothat the direction indicator point in the proper direction. Otherwisethe sign instead of being a guide aiding the traveler is worse thanuseless since it imsdirects him.

Since streets or roads intersect at various angles, it is also thepractice to provide for the positioning of the signs at such angles asmay be necessary to point in the direction of the designated road.

Signs of this character are frequently used as targets by boys orothers, shooting, throwing stones or other missiles, and as heretoforeconstructed, have had their utility quickly destroyed; that is to say,they have been so constructed that the signs, indicators, or both, wereeasily turned when struck by a missile and hence point in the wrongdirection. When so turned, such signs, to the stranger, of course becomevery troublesome, since there is nothing to indicate the incorrectnessthereof. Again, the fastenjngs of signs of the character heretoforeprovided have become quickly loosened by wind, sleet and other storms.so that in many instances this action alone has turned them in the Wrongdirection and at times caused them to break away from the holders and belost. The maintenance cost of such signs is therefore very large and inpractice it will be found that but a relatively few of them, especiallyin large cities, are properly serviceable for more than a very shortperiod. f

The general object of my invention is to provide a sign, which while itcan be placed in any desired angular position, will nevertheless be sofirmly held and locked in the placed position that no accidental forceless than that required to destroy the sign will cause the same to bemoved from the desired position.

Another object of my invention is to provide a sign holder of simple anddurable construction and of a form adapted to accommodate a directionindicator (when so desired) in a sheltered )osition and locked where itshall be in no danger of accidental shifting or destruction.

Again, it is an object of my invention to provide a sign holder thatwill cooperate with the top of the sign post in a manner adapted toprovide a thoroughly substantial, rigid, connection and yet one whichcan be easily and quickly assembled; and it is a further object of myinvention to provide a sign and holder of such form that the fasteningand locking devices shall be hidden from view, and in which theelements, such as rain, snow and the like shall be effectually excluded.

My invention consists generally in the form, arrangement, construction,and cooperation of the parts, whereby the above named objects, togetherwith others that will appear hereinafter, are attainable, and myinvention will be more readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein I depict what I consider, at the presenttime, to be the best embodiment thereof.

'tive, view of a sign and holder embodying my invention, a directionindicator being assembled as a part of the sign: Fin. 2 is a fragmentaryview. in elevation. of a sign and holder embodying my invention. thedirection indicator being omitted: Fig. is a plan view and Fig. 4 a sideelevation of the direction indicator alone; Fig. 5 is a plan view of thesign shown in Fig. 1, but on a slightly enlarge-d scale; Fig. (3 is aplan view of tin-sign. the upper sign holder being removed better todisclose the interior construction of the lower holder; liig. 7 is acentral vertical section through the sign holder, the same being upon anenlarged scale; and Fig. '8 is a detailed sectional view of the holdersubstantially on the line 8'--H of Fig. 7, the sign plates being omittedfrom the holder better to disclose the construction of the sign platereceiving grooves thereof.

Signs of the kind under consideration are frequently used in conjunctionwith a hollow meta post and for this reason, and not for limitingreasons, I shall describe the sign and bolder as combined with such apost.

In the drawings, 1 represents a hollow metal sign post and to co-acttherewith I provide a lower holder member 2, having a hollow interior 3of a size snugly to accommodate the upper part of the post 1. Thus as iswell shown in Fig. 7, the holder member 1 telescopes over the upper endof the metal post. While the sign-holding member 1, because of its snugfit, because of its weight, and because of its enga 'ement with aconsiderable portion of the cut? of the post, would probably remain inplace against all forces tending to remove it, I prefer as aprecautionary measure, to fur ther secure it against movement as bymeans of a set screw 4, (see Fig 7). I mi -ht here add that this setscrew is hardly visible after the sign plates have been inserted in theholder and that it does not mar the appearance of the sign or invitetampering action. The holder 2 is provided above and below and uponopposite sides \vlth portions 5, 6, 7, and 8 in which will be foundgrooves 9, 10, 11 and 12. The grooves 9 and 10 on one side, and 11' and12 on the other, are spaced apart, a distance just suilicient to form asliding fit for the rece tion of the sign plates 13 and 14. Upon t eouter faces 13' and 14' of the plates 13 and 14 will be found a street,road or other legend, as indicated by the reference character 15 inFigs. 1 and 2. So far as the present invention is concerned, this nameor legend may be impressed, embossed or formed therein or thereon, as bypaint, enamel or otherwise in any desired manner, and I shall notdescribe the rocess followed in the production thereo The sign platesare provided with the characters or legends thereof facing in oppositedirections, so that the sign can be read by a trav eler passing ineither direction.

Since the lower holder .is directly sup ported throu hout such a greatextent by the post, an since the sign plates 13 and 14 are secured inplace around that part of the lower holder that embraces the metal post,a very rigid construction is provided which cannot easily be turned orotherwise injured by forces unless they be of sufficient magnitudeactually to destroy or disrupt the sign.

I also provide means for rigidly securing the upper sign in place aswell as a direction indicator, both the upper sign and the directionindicator being formed for the placement in desired angular position orpositions relative to the lower sign. In many respects the problem ofsuitably holding and positioning, the upper sign and direction in-(lien-tor is a much more difficult one than the problem of positioningand holdin the ower sign, but I have solved this difficult problem in avery simple manner. To this end I form a tubular or beam-like extension2', upon the up r part of the lower holder 2, which beam-like portion 2is preferably somewhat smaller in size, cross-sectiona I considered,than the lower part of the ho der. At the juncture of the upwardextension 2' with the lower part of the holder, I rovide a seat portion25, which is arrange at right angles to the axis of the holder. Onopposite sides of the tubular extension 2' I provide a plurality ofvertically disposed ribs or projections 26 and 27, which as will beshown directly, co-act with corresponding vertical grooves in either thedirection indicator or the upper sign holder or both, depending uponwhether or not the upper sign alone is used in con'unction with thelower sign or whether a direction indicator is also employed. Thedirection indicator is composed of a substantially cylindrical bodyportion 28, from which extends the ar'row-like head and tail portions 29and 30 respectively. The body portion is provided with a referencecharacter 31, which is preferably the letter N (indicating north), sothat it may be positioned to oint north and thus indicate the points 0the compass. A

The body portion of the direction indicator is hollow and is providedwith vertical grooves.32 of a size adapted to receive the ribs orprojections 26 and 27 of the beam like extension 2' of the lower holder.To position the direction indicator upon the lower holder it is butnecessary to place the same over the top 2" of the beam-like extension,starting the same on so that it points in the desired direction. It willbe obvious that the direction indicator may he laced upon the holder sothat it points in the direction shown by means of full lines in Fig. 6,or in any other desired direction, several directions being indicated bymeans of dotted lines in Fig. 6. When in position it rests upon the seat25 and is prevented from turning movement by means of the countinginterlocking vertical ribs and grooves just described.

As iswell shown in Figs. 1 and 7, the direction indicator is positionedbetween the upper holder 33 and the lower holder 1 and in this positionis sheltered to a large extent from missiles or other objects that wouldbe likely, to hit and destroy it. Because of its position and relationto the other larger parts of the sign, its likelihood of remaining inefiective operative .condi: tion over along period is practically assured and should other parts of the sigh. be destroyed, it will remainas a general guide from which the points of the cpmpasa can bedetermined and for that reason will always be of value.

The upper sign holder. 33 is provided with'internal grooves 34 and 35 ofasize adapted to receive the projections 26 and 27 of the beam-likeextension and they are of course vertically positioned. The coaction ofthe upper sign holder 33 with the beam-like extensionfl" of the lowerholder is similar to the co-action of the direction indicator therewithand it is obvious that the upper sign holder can be placed in anydesired an lar position and that. when so placed wfi l, because of thevertical interlocking grooves and ribs, be firmly held in the placedposition to such an extent that the turning thereof is practicallyimpossible so long as the parts are not broken or shattered. While theweight of the upper holder 33 would normally hold it in position, Iprefer to provide precau tionary fastening means such as a setscrew 36for further securing the holder to the beam-like extension 2- of thelower holder.

The upper holder, like the lower holder, is formed to receive a pair ofsign plates upon opposite sides thereof and to this end is provided with11 per and lower grooves for the reception 0 the sign plates 37 and 38respectively. The uppermost part of the up )er holder 33 is preferablyprovided with a ome or closed. end 39 to effectually prevent theentrance of water, snow and the like. This dome-like top also enhancesthe appearance of the sign as a Whole.

i Vhen it is not desired to use the direction indicator the upper signholder 33 rests against the seat 25 of the lower sign holder and theposition of the parts is as shown in Fig. 2. T he relation which thebeam-like portion 2' of the lower holder assumes with relation to theupper holder when the direction indicator is not used. is shown by meansof dotted lines in Fig. 7.

The various parts of the sign, a. e. upper and lower holders, directionindicator and 0st are preferably of hollow or tubular.

orm, since such construction provides the greatest strength of thecharacter needed, with the least metal. I usually cast the upperand'lower holders and the direction indicator, and form the signs properof pressed plates.

Furthermore, the telescopic arran ement of the parts adds to thestrength an rigidity. thereof, Thus the lower holder telescoping overthe top of the metal ost is "reinforced b the metal post and is t erebyheld ve rigid indeed. Likewise the u per hol ertelescopin as it.doesover t e cam-like extension 0 the lower holder is in turn reinforced bythis extension and these parts mutually co-act not only to hold and lockthe parts in desired position, but also to strengthen them againstbreaka By this mutual reinforcing co-action of t e parts I am enabled touse a relatively thinwalledconstruction and yet secure suflicientstrength.

From the above detailed description it becomes apparent that the signshown and described embodies features whereby the objects and purposessou ht are attained, but since this disclosure W51 readil suggest toothers, skilled in the art to w ich this ap ertains, various modifiedconstructions ments whereby the substantial objects an purposes of mvinvention me be attained, I do not Wis to be limite except only as maybe necessar by the limitations in the hereunto appen ed claims.

I claimz a 1. A direct locking two part sign holder embodying thereinlower and upper co -acting'i'nembers one thereof having a beam likeextension telescopically enterin the other, said beam-like extension andho der member with which it co-acts havin vertically disposedinter-locking ribs ant grooves wherey mere association of the signholder parts serves to lock them against undesired movement.

2. A direct locking two part sign holder embodying therein lower andupper co-acting members one thereof'having a beamlike extensiontelescopically entering the other, said beam-like extension and holdermember with which. it co-acts having vertically disposed inter-lockingribs and grooves whereby mere association of the sign holder partsserves to lock them against undesired movement, said lower member beingformed hollow for placement upon the end of a post.

an arran In testimony whereof, I have hereunto.

set my hand, this 18th day of March, 1919, in. the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HERMAN P. ANDRESEN.

Witnesses THOMAS B. BROWN, An'rnrm WM. NnLsoN.

